Truth Supported With Facts and Documents

Vietnam Veterans

For over a year, David Rountree’s military valor and history claims have been investigated by many people. To put the controversy at rest, under FOIA, his DD214 was obtained to clarify his claims of military service and valor he has made in social media, print interviews, radio interviews, podcasts, as well as what he published in his biographies and in his book. The DD214 was received with the official pressed seal of the National Personnel Records Center and has Mr. Rountree’s signature on it to circumvent any allegation that the document is fraudulent, photoshopped, or “falsified”.

A photo was taken of the bottom of the above document which shows the pressed seal of the NPRC along with Rountree’s signature, documenting its authenticity:

Just in case Rountree tries to claim that it is not his signature, it was also compared to his enlistment contract, which validates it was his true signature:

These records contradict his claims of service in Vietnam:

Additionally, here is his awards verification:

As you can see, David Rountree NEVER served in Vietnam and NEVER earned the Bronze Star or Silver Star. He never earned any of the awards or badges as he displayed on the uniform he posted in three different social media sites in two different years as seen below:

David Rountree’s awards were also confirmed by the Air Force. He did not earn any of the medals displayed on the wall as Brandy Eves stated he earned:

Statement referencing his shadowbox of medals

He also was never an officer as he posed in this photo:

Let’s clear two things up which I know are going to be issues that is going to be brought up by Mr. Rountree in defense of this post: Libel and Invasion of Privacy.

Mr. Rountree is/was a public figure that once bragged if anyone wanted to know about him to “google him”. He was on TV, is an author with several books currently being sold. In his self-published book, “Dark Lord: The first tome of the Chronicles of Greywolf and the Goddess” he states on page 493 that his “experience in Vietnam inspired him to write.” He had a LinkedIn biography that he claimed he was in the Fall of Saigon and the Mayaguez incident. He had a website in which he posted photos of himself in full Air Force dress uniform complete with medals and a biography that he was in Vietnam at the above incidents. He also posted public photos of himself at different times on public social media groups the same photos and claimed they were taken for a reunion of his Vietnam tour.

For any cries of libel and invasion of privacy, Mr. Rountree opened the door for his background to be vetted and investigated. In order to prove libel Mr. Rountree would have to prove without a doubt that what was said or written about him is not true. Nothing in this blog is false. It is based on fact.

In regards to invasion of privacy, invasion of privacy occurs when you publicly disclose private facts not related to public concern. Because Mr. Rountree made so many public claims about his biography and his military service over the years, as well as it is published in his book currently being sold, the claims can be investigated for truth. Furthermore, he instructed the public to “google him” and he is a public figure, as he was on television and continues to do radio shows, has had articles written about him in numerous magazines, and does podcasts. The facts that are shared above about him ARE REFUTING WHAT HE PUT OUT PUBLICLY AND THEREFORE ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO PUBLIC CONCERN.

Apparently, there has been some confusion to everyone who has followed my blogs on this particular site. So, I figured in the interest of easier understanding, I’m going to break down all of David Rountree’s excuses and attacks barney style (that’s military jargon meaning to explain in a manner that a child can even understand). But before I do, I guess I should clear some things up.

To be honest, I didn’t think that Rountree would go off the deep end with all his mudslinging and accusations as to my blog. It see that he follows it. The truth is, he doesn’t know me and outside of what he posts and shares that circulates around, I don’t know him. I don’t care about ghosts or haunts and I don’t know all these names he’s rattling off, and don’t care. Outside of me contacting them and asking them questions on top of asking them to provide proof of their own claims, we have no personal relationship. If he published a name somewhere saying they know something about his stolen valor, then of course, I’m going to look them up and contact them as well. It’s fair game. If he opens the door, I’m going to walk through it.

I do know Scott Hughes, however, and I also know the sites Military Phonies, This Ain’t Hell, Stolen Valor and Guardian of Valor. Everyone in the military does. I AM familiar and have talked to the many people in those forums who are legitimate veterans and are serious about David Rountree committing fraud. I am also familiar with the Koh Tang/Mayaguez incident and know many, many Vietnam Veterans. So to break it down, this blog has nothing to do with his ghost hunting groups but it has everything to do with his military stolen valor, which I am about to completely break down along with proof of service from many of the military commentators.

First, it’s only fair to post what Mr. Rountree commented, as he is stating he NEVER POSTED HIS MILITARY PHOTOS and that he basically NEVER made any military claims. (Click on the photos for a larger view of them).

HERE’S THE PROOF HE DID MAKE MILITARY CLAIMS AND POSTED MILITARY PHOTOS.

On JUNE 12, 2009 he posted the following photo and commented on it:

On NOVEMBER 5, 2011 he posted in S.P.I.R.I.T. Paranormal Research Laboratory:

He once was the Webmaster of a website for the Sons of Confederacy, Camp 1505 Private Meridith Pool (the page has since been shut down by him) in which he posted the following photos (NOTICE THE PHOTOS ARE THE SAME AS THE ONES HE COMMENTED ON YEARS BEFORE AND HE NAMED HIMSELF THE WEBMASTER):

On Twitter and Instagram he also posted the following photo (Look on the wall behind him…notice the picture?)

He published a book which is sold on Amazon called Dark Lord : The First Tome of the Chronicles of Greywolf and the Goddess. It is a SELF-PUBLISHED BOOK, and after calling the publishing company and going to the website, this was confirmed. On PAGE 493 in the actual book, one can find his claim of how his alleged Vietnam Service propelled him to write (the second photo is his bio on Amazon, which self-publishers upload):

He also uploaded the same bio with the same claim of Vietnam service on several different pages, here’s another one in which he referred to himself by his old penname, Greywolf:

He also posted this photo of himself wearing Air Assault Wings and the unit patch of an Air Force unit that he was never in:

Then there’s his Ancestry.com account bio that he recently changed after allegations of Stolen Valor came out:

And the infamous photo he uploaded onto Squatchunlimited.org on December 29, 2012, in which he is wearing an U.S. Army Captain’s beret, with Captain’s rank:

So for all those people that said, to include Rountree himself, that he never commented or publicly posted any photos or claims of military service, the above ABSOLUTELY PROVES THAT IS A LIE. For those that keep circulating that the photos were photoshopped, his OWN COMMENTS ON THE SAME PICTURES SUPPORT THE FACT THEY WERE POSTED YEARS BEFORE THE ALLEGATIONS STARTED AND ALSO ABSOLUTELY PROVE THEY WERE NOT PHOTOSHOPPED.

Yesterday, he publicly posted in two different places allegations against Scott Hughes of the Fake Warrior Project, the Military Phonies site, and the This Ain’t Hell blogsite. In his words, they were responsible for doctoring government documents, as well as were responsible for the suicides of 27 veterans. He also claimed that Scott Hughes was dishonorably discharged and was a deserter from the United States Marine Corps.

THIS IS ANOTHER LIE:

Scott Hughes sent a copy of his Honorable Discharge and his DD214:

Jonn Lilyea, author of the This Ain’t Hell Blog, and contributor to Military Phonies, had his response to the allegations made by Rountree:

“For one thing, there has been only a few attempts at suicide, only one was successful and that fellow tried to make it look like Navy SEALs had killed him. Some of the suicides we’ve been accused of causing were two people who actually died from a lifetime of drug abuse. I don’t think they were attempting suicide, they just died because their bodies were tired of the abuse. Like their stolen valor, the folks who actually tried to kill themselves made those poor choices themselves. One fellow who had attempted suicide had ripped off two veteran charities of thousands of dollars. He had never served in any military organization, ever. Another, tried to make his suicide look like we had shot him – he’s facing charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

I’ve had families tell me that their family member would die if I published my research, but when I did publish it, not only didn’t they die, they were caught in another state doing the same thing all over again. Many have made their fake military service the centerpiece of their entire life. We even had a fake Navy SEAL hire a hitman to make us take down our website so he could go back to being a phony SEAL.

We don’t know how to “doctor” documents. With as many phonies as there are out in the world, we certainly don’t need to make any paperwork up. There are more than six hundred on our website. One or two more or less wouldn’t make a difference.” Lilyea supplied his DD214 (lilyea dd214) to prove his honorable service and discharge.

Kim Kowalczyk, who works with Law Enforcement, also called out David Rountree. He specifically commented to him,

“Your military service. I am a year older than what you said you are and I did a career in the military and know how it works and what went on during Vietnam and it’s official end in 75. You can have the paranormal with all the phonies out there but you can’t belittle the U.S. Armed Forces by lying about service. So rant away, I can’t be intimidated. I give you the benefit of doubt on the military for the time being until I check. If you are telling the truth I will write a beautiful retraction. If you are not telling the truth… well, that will be up to the government. Embellishing is one thing but lying is quite another.”

Mr. Kowalzyk ALSO provided his DD214 and discharge certificate as proof of his honorable service:

As far as the suicide allegations, there have never been any investigations, notices, subpoenas, or anything else ever linking the above individuals to the suicides other than the BLOGS WRITTEN BY PEOPLE WHO WERE CAUGHT COMMITTING STOLEN VALOR. That’s right, the rumors were started and circulated by individuals who were caught committing stolen valor.

Furthermore, one needs only to contact the STOLEN VALOR group (http://guardianofvalor.com/) (they have been interviewed, conferred with by LEOs, and was even referred to by senators and congressmen when the Stolen Valor laws were really being pushed), and ask them about Hughes, Military Phonies, and This Ain’t Hell. Keep in mind, lawmakers in New Jersey reached out to Former U.S. Army Sgt. Anthony Anderson, who founded the Stolen Valor Facebook page and Guardian of Valor website when they were drafting the recent Stolen Valor bill in their state, which actually exceeds the standards of Federal Law.They are very familiar with the case against David Rountree as well as Scott Hughes and Jonn Lilyea, as the founder of that group has actually commented about the attack on Hughes’ character and defended him. So that should put into perspective the fact that Rountree lied again.

For those that say Rountree has committed no crimes you may want to rethink that and if you’re still unsure, you can find out more about how it IS a crime by clicking this link: http://guardianofvalor.com/laws/. Remember in New Jersey, “Currently, state law makes it a crime of the fourth degree to knowingly present oneself as a veteran or a member of the military with the intent to deceive, but not necessarily for the purpose of obtaining any kind of benefit, by wearing a military uniform or medal or insignia… Federal law prohibits both the unauthorized wearing of a military uniform or any distinctive part thereof and false statements as to receipt of military decorations or medals for the purpose of obtaining money, property, or some other tangible benefit.”

I dare say that wearing a Captain’s beret, posing with the Silver Star badge, Commander’s Wings, claiming to be a Vietnam Veteran in a book that is sold online, across state lines, and posting on an author’s den and Amazon bio that you were in special forces and in the Mayaquez incident, all fall under violations of both this Federal Law and current New Jersey state law.

David Rountree continues to deny embellishing his military records. Instead, he has launched his own attack at various groups and individuals who have questioned him, most of which have cited this blog, in recent days. However, his recent explanation of the photos that surfaced were that they were photoshopped.

Note Rountree’s remarks about the photos (For a larger view of the photos, click on them).

I will tell you, that the individual he claims to have written the expose and posted the photos is not the person(s) who actually did it. In fact, the organization that posted about David Rountree initially has no clue who that individual is, nor do the other bloggers. Although I am noticing there are quite a few military people that are involved in the paranormal community, neither this blog nor the others (This Ain’t Hell, Military Phonies, and The Fake Warrior Project) have nothing to do with Mr. Rountree’s hobby of Ghost Hunting. In fact, The Fake Warrior Project works with the POW Network and specializes in exposing individuals caught committing Stolen Valor.

Nonetheless, in regards to Rountree’s claims that the photos of him in uniform were photoshopped, on November 5, 2011, Rountree posted his photo (the same photo that was published in the expose) in the group S.P.I.R.I.T. Paranormal Research Laboratory. One person commented right away about something being wrong with his uniform. Rountree claimed the photo was taken for his reunion of his former squadron.

Again on June 12, 2009 he posted another photo of himself in uniform claiming it was for his 35th Anniversary of his Vietnam Tour of Duty. He claimed the photo above was taken in 2004. These photos were clearly taken on the same day, as one could tell by his face, as well as the fact that his tie was crooked in both photos.That would have put him in Vietnam in 1969. Rountree did not enter the military until 1972. Rountree was still in high school in 1969. In fact, at that time, Rountree would have only been 15 years old.

Again, these are the same photos that were in the initial expose, which Rountree claims were photoshopped. What is even more confounding, is the fact that these photos were also hanging on his wall when he took one of his “selfies” and posted the same photo on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. One can tell they are from the same photo reel because of the objects and the pictures on the mantle. Although the selfie image has been flipped (which is obvious because of the side the medals are on the uniform) it is still the same individual in the same uniform.

Proof photos were not photoshopped

Here is the same image of Rountree as shown on the wall behind him in the selfie photo.

Needless to say, it does not take an expert to deduce that no one photoshopped any of Mr. Rountree’s photos. Additionally, in January of this year, he was highlighted on a site and labeled as “Prominent in the Paranormal” in which he answered questions to the fans. One individual wrote him personally to which he responded:

In this response, he claimed he was in for 6 years and was an officer.

I received word that Mr. Rountree has finally opened up about his feelings in regards to the expose and the publishing of his service verification under the Freedom of Information Act. He made the following comments:

There are several issues with his response. Rather than directly discuss the accusations (the claim of his service in Vietnam or the medals he claimed to have won), he instead goes on an attack against someone he thinks wrote the expose, the blogs, etc. Furthermore, he couldn’t be more wrong about the information he put out regarding the Freedom of Information Act and how the records work at the National Personnel Records Center. Even more puzzling are his bullet points (4) and (7). What is Rountree trying to insinuate? Is he implying that he will have his friends in law enforcement, government agencies, and the IRS cause issues for an individual or group just because he says so? Wouldn’t that be a felonious act in itself? Regarding his bullet point (5), does he not realize him doing that is the very thing he’s crying foul about? In regards to his bullet points (3) and (6), what is he claiming was altered and does he have any proof? I saw the original forms and can attest to the fact that they were authentic and in no way, shape or form were altered. In fact, I even received a separate email confirmation:

The ironic thing is that Rountree is claiming that bloggers, radio hosts, commentors, criticizers are breaking federal law, when in fact that is what he is doing. At no time has anyone broken any law. No one hacked into any accounts. No one falsified any information. No one altered any government documents. No one posed any death threats, etc. All information was either shared thorugh public social media forums, emailed from people who have access to sites legally, or obtained from legitimate agencies using the Freedom of Information Act. However, again, he DOES NOT address why he is wearing an officer’s uniform with Command Wings, a Silver Star ribbon, or even the Purple Heart ribbon. Never has he directly addressed this information.

It is important to note, that at present, “New Jersey State law makes it a crime of the fourth degree to knowingly present oneself as a veteran or a member of the military with the intent to deceive, but not necessarily for the purpose of obtaining any kind of benefit, by wearing a military uniform or medal or insignia.” This can be verified at the following website: https://www.govtrack.us/states/nj/bills/413e4d3f5b59/s2704 Therefore, if anyone is guilty of breaking any laws, it is David Montgomery Rountree.

Is he claiming there is a conspiracy against him from not just the organizations that are looking into him, but the NPRC and the Air Force Personnel at Keesler AFB as well? All the information obtained were available under the Freedom of Information Act. There have been no crimes committed by anyone doing the research and questioning of Rountree’s background. Even the initial expose did not claim Rountree was guilty of anything but rather he was being accused of Stolen Valor. As a public figure, Rountree is open to more scrutiny, especially considering he openly challenged anyone to who didn’t know him to “Google him”, which is also in his biographies on numerous sites.

What to many is most baffling, is Rountree’s behavior which has come full circle. First, he made outrageous claims of being in Vietnam, being an Airman at Mayaguez and the Fall of Saigon, earning the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Then he issued warnings of exposing people who questioned him, claimed he received death threats on a radio show (which was later proven to be completely false), posted a woman’s address on Social Media, laughed when his fans called a military panel who was discussing Stolen Valor on a radio show “terrorists”, and issued out a warning to all who challenged him. Then he began taking down the PVT Camp Meredith Pool website and some of his personal social media outlets when people started talking about the controversy. Then he changed his bios on several other profiles as more people began questioning him. Then he told people, to include Mack Maloney, that he would not discuss the situation and that his photos were photoshopped. Then he posted the above comments, which actually were contradicted by his own postings yet again, and skirted the issues of his uniform.

Just playing Devil’s advocate, even if Rountree was in service for as long as he claimed to have been in, he still would not have earned the Command Flight Wings. By his own admission, he was an Airman First Class and yet, he claimed to have been an officer. Therefore, even without the records, Rountree’s lies still come full circle. However, anyone who has worked with the FOIA and have received service verification records all know what they look like when they are received, and Rountree’s records were NOT falsified by any means.

At what point will Rountree simply be a man and own up to the lies that he told? As Shakespeare wrote, “Oh the tangled web we weave, when we plan to deceive.”

Eventually, all STOLEN VALOR POSERS get caught. There’s this simple thing we can do as informed Americans about people whom we think commit Stolen Valor: Put in a records request under the Freedom of Information Act from the National Personnel Records Center.

HIS CLAIM: He was an officer (O-3) who served from 1972-1976 and then in reserves from 1976-1978 – FALSE

TRUTH: He was an Airman First Class (E-3) who served from 1972-1974, with no follow up reserve time.

HIS CLAIM: He earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Silver Star while in the special forces in Vietnam – FALSE

TRUTH: He earned the National Defense Service Medal under Air Force Manual 900-3, which everyone gets when they join the military during a time of war and graduate basic training. No other awards, decorations or skills were obtained during his service. Which means, he should only have 1 ribbon on his uniform….not all of the ribbons, medals and badges he wore on his uniform at the Veterans Day photo in 2003. He never made it to any unit in the Air Force and the only places he’d been while in the Air Force was basic training at Lackland AFB in Texas, and his AIT at Keesler AFB in MS. From there he was discharged from the Air Force.

HIS CLAIM: He was in special forces in the Air Force – FALSE

TRUTH: He was a junior enlisted Flight Facilities Equipment Repair Airman….nothing to do with special forces or special operations.

Furthermore, Rountree cannot backtrack and say that he never said anything about earning medals, being at the Fall of Saigon, Mayaguez, and then being an officer in the Air Force. As you read the first expose, you clearly see that it was actually all taken from his numerous social media sites and his comments in many different places. In fact, his fiance even commented about his numerous medals she was looking at hanging on their wall. However, clearly he did not earn any of these. (See attached photo)

Lastly, he cannot claim that someone stole his photos, which was recently alleged, and photoshopped into the picture. In the attached selfie he took and posted on Instagram, notice the photo he has on his wall in his office. It is the same photo that was in the expose that he had posted on his military website. If it was photoshopped, why would he have it mounted on his wall which was posted way before any of the allegations of stolen valor were ever made?

Since the first publishing of the Rountree expose, he has even further incriminated himself by taking down all of his websites referring to military service. Why do that if you have nothing to hide? He has changed almost every bio he had published. Why do that if you have nothing to hide? He even went so far as to go into the Web Machine and save a downed page on April 4, 2015 so that his website could not be revived. Why do that if you have nothing to hide?

At the end of the day, it has been proven that David Rountree has lied about his military service. His records speak for themselves. He fraudulently embellished his military record, which is in fact, Stolen Valor. (Click on the image for a larger view)

Here’s the documented proof of Stolen Valor

This shows he never even made it to a unit. His only medal was a NDSM, which everyone gets when they graduate basic during a time of war.

Taken from the Website he was the webmaster of. He has since taken the website down.

Medals on his wall his fiance referred to when coming to Rountree’s defense.

This guy is a real piece of work. It is unbelievable that this one man has over 300 pictures… of himself! He’s bragged for years about accolades he never earned and challenged people to “Google him”. And they did. He attacks anyone who questions him but then says that people need to think critically. Why can he question other people and attack their credentials when he knows damn well he lied about his? But the worst thing is, this guy committed STOLEN VALOR! If he did serve in the Air Force, then he’s an even bigger piece of crap because he knows better. He wasn’t at those places in Vietnam and he didn’t win those awards. Read on….(click the Rountree expose link) Rountree expose

Something isn’t right about this uniform… especially since he only served 6 years. Can you figure out what all is wrong?